Nov 12, 2009

Alzheimer’s Awareness: Why Bother?

After all, doesn’t it makes more sense to skip the awareness effort and just focus all resources on a cure?

Dennis Fortier

As we enter into National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, you may wonder why we should bother promoting awareness. Those who have been touched by Alzheimer’s are already aware and those who have not been touched can’t really help -- so what’s the point? After all, doesn’t it makes more sense to skip the awareness effort and just focus all resources on a cure?

As it turns out, lack of awareness and education are major contributors to the burgeoning Alzheimer’s problem. While the benefits of awareness may not be obvious, they are very real.

For example, do you know what you can do today to reduce your risk of getting Alzheimer’s later in life? If not, your lack of awareness is fueling the ongoing problem.

Do you know how we can immediately improve the efficacy of those drugs currently approved for Alzheimer’s? Sadly, most patients and many physicians do not.

How clear is your grasp of the relationship between a healthy heart and a healthy brain? For many of us, investing a few minutes to improve our understanding of that relationship could yield long-lasting health benefits.

The answers to these questions along with four other important perspectives are summarized in a short article on the Brain Today blog. The full article can be read in about five minutes and, with a couple of additional clicks, can be forwarded to your online networks.

In the spirit of National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, please visit the Brain Today blog and read the article and then encourage your social networks to do the same. In this way, you will become a part of the solution, doing your part to thwart Alzheimer’s through the simple act of awareness.

Dennis Fortier is President of Medical Care Corporation and Editor of the Brain Today blog. Brain Today is a non-commercial publication devoted to interpreting the daily news about brain health and distilling the true value of that news.

The Alzheimer's Reading Room does not provide medical advice. The contents are for informational purposes only, and are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The views of the individuals that write on this website, contribute articles, or are quoted on this site are not necessarily those of the Alzheimer's Reading Room. For specific, personalized medical advice we encourage you to contact your physician.Unauthorized use and/or duplication of all materials and articles in the Alzheimer's Reading Room without the express and written permission from Bob DeMarco are strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given and appropriate and specific direction to the original content is included.